Study finds declining mortality rate for people with hypertension

Data on almost 23,000 adults indicate the mortality rates of those with high blood pressure declined from 18.8 per 1,000 person-years in the 1971 to 1975 time period to 14.3 per 1,000 person-years in the 1988 to 1994 period. But adults with hypertension still had at least a 42% higher mortality rate compared with people without hypertension during the time frames, as well as a 45% lower reduction in cholesterol levels and a higher risk of developing diabetes, the study in the journal Circulation found.